Spool winder



y 1930: c. H. COLLINS ET AL S POOL WI NDE'R Filed Aug. 15. 1928 2 Shets-Sheet May 20, 1930.

C. H. COLLINS ET SPOOL WINDER Filed Aug. 15, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 3o pactness of the windings whereon will be Patented May 20, 1930 I UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES H. COLLINS, DECEASED, LATE OF AMSTERDAM, NEW YORK, BY MARY COL- LINS, EXECUTRIX, 0F CRANESVILLE, NEW YORK, AND ERNEST D. JANSEN, OF .ALBANY, NEW YORK; AGNESE C. JANSEN, ADMINISTRATRIX 0F SAID ERNEST D. JANSEN, DECEASED; ASSIGNOBS TO COLLINS LOOM WORKS, INC., 013 AMSTERDAM, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK sroon WINDEB Application filed August 15, 1928. Serial No. 299,774.

This invention relates in general to machines for winding spools, and more particularly to machines especially adapted for winding amultiple number of yarns upon a single spool such as is used in conjunction with the tube frames of Axminster looms;

The present invention is a further im provement onthe device disclosed in an application filed by Charles H. Collins, Serial No. 83,787, filed Jan. 26, 1926, and a refiling thereof filed by Margaret Collins, as executriX under the last will and testament of the said Charles H. Collins, the serial number thepeof being 241,975, filed December 22, 192

in the device disclosed by the aforesaid applications, compacting pressure is applied to the yarns as they are laid upon the spool, this pressure being due to the weight of the upper roller which is yieldingly j mounted, plus the pull of a tension spring actingthereon and the effectiveness whereof progressively increases as successive layers of yarns are laid upon the spool. Experience has taught that this increasing pressure causes a lack of uniformity in the compactness of the yarns on the wound spools, and one object of this invention is to provide animproved spool winder which will produce spools the comsubstantially uniform throughout.

In the prior device disclosed by the aforesaid applications the peripheral speed of the bottom or fixedly supported pair of rollers was always thesame, while the peripheral speed of the upper and yieldingly mounted roller was either slightly less, or

slightly greater than that of the bottom pair, depending on whether the device was adjusted to produce an overwound or an underwound spool. Experience has taught that when an overwound spool wasbeing produced, the yarns as they were being wound contacting first with the top 'roller which-then had a surface speed less than that of the bottom pair, this upper roller thus acting as a brake or drag which put a tension on the yarns, the result was ideal, and that when the'device was adjusted to produce an funderworind? spool,- the yarns contacting adjusted to other positions being first with one of the bottom rollers both of which travelled at the same speed as before the readjustment, while the speed of the upper roller had been stepped up with until it was greater than that of the lower roller, the tensioning'efl'ectof the'now faster moving upper roller was not as effective, and the windings were not so satisfactory. Another object of this invention is to provide an improved machine which will be equally effective whether the spools are to be underwound or overwound. A still further object of this invention is to provide a single and effective means for taking up the slack in the sprocket chain which transmits rotary motion to the yieldingly mounted. roller.

The manner in which these objectshave been accomplished is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of this improved spool winder, part broken away; gearing arranged to produce an overwound. spool. Fig. 1A is a detail view taken on the line 11 of Figure 1 illustrating the relative positions of the two rockable gear-carrying members when the machine is adjusted to produce an overwound spool, their positions when indicated by dotted lines.

2 1s a cross section as along the line 2-2 on Fig. 1 and looking in the direction indicated by the darts; parts brokenaway. Fig. 3 is a cross section as alongthe irregular line 3-3 on Fig. 1 and looking in the direction'indicated by the darts.

Fig. 4 is a cross-section as along the line 22 on'Fig. 1 except that the gearing has been shifted soas to produce an underwound spool. Fig. 5 is a cross-section as along the line 3-3 on Fig. 1 when the gearing is arranged to produce an underwound spool. I'

Fig. 6 is an elevation of the right hand end of this improved spoolwinder. Y f 7 It is to be understood that the drawings are in a certain sense illustrative only, no attempt having been made to show exact proportions; and that numerous modifications may be made without departing from the spirit ofthis invention. 1

Referring to the drawings it will be seen that this improved spool winder comprises a set of three rollers between which a spool is placed to be wound, exactly as in the device disclosed by the before mentioned application; the fixedly positioned bottom rollers, here indicated by the mnnerals 2 and 3 being mounted in bearings found in the end supports 4 and 5 which form a part of the frame of the machines, while the roller 6 is journalled in a structure comprising hinged uprights 7 and 8 (joined together by the rod vertically reciprocable in the end supports a and 5, and which when raised to a point above that which it occupies when a spool is filled may be swung forward to permit the filled spool to be removed and an empty one put in place. "l -he upper portions of the ts 7 and 8 are preferably hinged slightly off center and are connected to tension springs 9 or 10 adapted to resist turning movement of the hinged structure. Rind means for preventing this turning movement until the roller has been raised above the normal full spool po o siti'on may be used if desired, but such means are not shown. The lower portions of the parts 7 and 8 he in suitable guideways and have racks cut therein which engage with pinions 88 on the ends of a shaft 12, and wh'ch is rotatable by means of a chain and sprockets from and by a handle 11, to raise the roller 6 away from a filled spool and into position where it may be swung forward and out of the way so as to facilitate the removal and/or placing of a spool.

Vith a view to overcoming what proved to v be an unsatisfactory result inthe machine di closed in the Collins application-supra, means are now provided whereby the'desired compressing force may be applied against the yarns as they are laid upon the spool, and this force remain substantially constant throughout the winding thereof. This improved means comprises a spaced pair of levers 13 and 14, secured to a shaft :15, journalled in the these levers having a weight 16 adj ustably secured thereon. Each end of the shaft is provided with a crank arm 171 or 172, the free end whereof ,is connected by a link 18 to lower portions of one of the hinged uprights 7 or 8, the effect of the weights 16 being thereby added to the weight of the roller 6 to compress the yarns 19 as they are laid upon a spool 20. The are through which the levers 13 and 14- wi'll travel when a spool is filled is so slight the effectiveness of the weights 16 remains substantially constant.

In this improved spool winder power is ap plied,-as tothe driving pulley 21 (22 is a loose pulley) to cause the shaft 23 to rotate in the direction indicated.

The motion of the shaft 23 is transmitted by any suitable means, her'e indicated :as a

sprocket and chain drive 'tothe shaft 24 jourframe of the machine; each ofnalled in a sleeve 25, so mounted in the part l of the frame of the machine as to be capable of limited oscillating movement therein, and which is a part of or has secured thereto the gear-carrying member 26, and the handle 27 whereby it may be manually oscillated means (not shown) are preferably provided for locking this sleeve in adjusted position.

011 the inner end of the shaft 24 is secured a spur gear 28, meshing with a spur gear 29 carried on the gear-carrying member 26, and gear 29 in turn meshes with a similar gear 30 carried on the same member. Each of the gears 29 and 30 is adapted to be brought into mesh with the spur gear 31 carried on the free end of a gear-carrying member 32 pivoted on the shaft of the roller 2, and which is always in mesh with the spur gear 33 secured on the shaft of said roller, and at times in mesh with the spur gear secured on the shaft 7 of the roller 3 as well (see Fig. 2). The gear carrying member 32 is connected witn the gear carrying member 26 by an eccentric link 56 so arranged that the shifting of the member 26 will cause the member 32 to be swung about its pivot point and toward (or away from), and the gear 31 into (or out of) mesh with the gear 34 on the shaft of the roller 3.

Formed on or secured to the gear 31 so as to be turned thereby is a part of the universal joint 35, joined by a shaft 36 to a second universal joint 37, a part whereof is formed on or secured to the shaft 38 on which is feathered a slidable gear-carrying sleeve 39 adapted to be shifted from one extreme position to the other by longitudinal movement of the shaft 4-0 which is moved by the shifting of the gear-carrying member 26 through the medium of a link 41 and bell crank lever 42, or in any other suitable manner.

The gear sleeve 39, carries spur gears 43 and 44, the gear 43 beingadapted to mesh with a spur gear a5 secured on a shaft 46 mounted abovethe sleeve 39 and at proper distance therefrom; and the gear 44 on said sleeve is adapted to mesh with the gear 47 secured on said shaft 46 and with another spur gear 4-3 which in turn meshes, through an intermediate gear -19, with a spur gear 50 secured to the shaft of the roller 3.

The shaft 16 also has a sprocket Wheel 51 secured thereon whereby its motion is transmitted through the medium ofa chain 52 and a similar wheel 53 to the roller 6; the chain 52 being long enough to permit the necessary maximum upward movement of said roller, the slack being cared for by asuitable takeup device which comprises a complemental pair of parts 54 and 54 hingedtogether to a fork-like structure,'the free ends whereof are connected and drawn toward :each other by a tension spring 54 .Mounted on the free :ends of said pair or parts are laterally projecting rollers 54 adapted to contact with the backs of the chain. The take-up device is loosely mounted on the rod many suit able manner, here shown as by a split journal formed at the upper end of the part 54*.

The operation of the improved spool winder is as follows:

lVhen the machine is adjusted to produce overwound spools, as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the handle 27 which controls the position of the gear-carrying member 26 is in the up position, the motion of the driving pulley 21 and shaft 23 being transmitted to the shaft 24 and gear 28, thence through the gears 29 and 31 to the rollers 2 and 3; the

motion of the gear 31 being transmitted through the shaft 36 to the shaft 38 and the gear-carrying sleeve 39 feathered thereon; thence through the gears 44 and 47, shaft 46, sprocket 51, chain 52, and sprocket 53 to the yieldingly mounted top roller 6. The gear 44 has a less number of teeth than has the gear 47, so that the speed of the shaft 46 and of the roller 6 (the sprockets 51 and 53 being alike) will be slightly'lower than the speed of the rollers 2 and 3.

As the spool 20 is rotated under the urge of the rollers, the faster travelling rollers 2 and 3 fix the speed at which the spool will turn and the yarns 19 being wound thereon will be drawn under the now slower travelling upper roller 6, the first with which the yarns contact, at a speed. greater than the peripheral speed of said roller which will therefore act as a brake or drag on the yarns and so set up tension thereon.

While the device is operating while adjusted as above described, the gears 48, 49 and 50 at the right hand end of the machine are running idle.

In order to adjust the machine to produce underwound spools under exactly the same condition, i. e. the yarns contacting first with the one slower moving roller of the set, it is only necessary to push down the handle 27 thus oscillating the sleeve 24 and causing the shifting of the gear-carrying member 26 so as to draw the gear 29 out of and the gear 30 into engagement with the gear 31. The down ward shifting of the handle 27, and the con sequent upward oscillating of the member 26, due to the action of the link 56 likewise induces a shifting of the member 32 away from, and the Withdrawal of the gear 31 which is carried on the end thereof out of engagement with the gear 34 on the left hand end of the shaft of the roller 3 (see Fig. 4). This same shifting of the member 26, working through the link 41, bell crank 42, shaft 40, anda shifting fork mounted thereon, (see Fig. 1), causes the gear-carrying sleeve 39 to be shifted toward the left, drawing the gear 44 out of mesh with the gear 47, and into mesh with the gear 48 so as to drive, through the gears 49 and 50, the roller 3. The same shift in the sleeve 39 brings the gear 43 carriedthereon into mesh with the-gear 45 on the shaft 46. The gears 43 and 45 each have the same number of teeth so that when this shift is made the roller6 will travel at the same speed as the roller 2; but the relative size of the gears 47, 48, 49, and 50, are such that the roller 3 now has the same peripheral the heads of the spools to be wound, one of them yieldingly mounted; means for posltively driving all of said rollers in the same "direction, one of them at a peripheral speed difierent from that of the others and means for exerting a substantially constant pressure in opposition to the normal yielding movement of said yieldingly mounted roller, during the winding operation.

2; In a spool winder of the class described: 1

three parallel rollers adapted to fit between the heads of the spools to be wound, one of them yieldingly mounted; means for positively driving all of said rollers in the same direction, one of them at a peripheral speed different from that of the others; means for exerting a substantially constant pressure in opposition to the normal yielding movement of said yieldingly mounted roller, said means including a lever fulcrumed atone point, a

weight adjustable thereon, and an operative connection between said lever andsaid roller whereby said weight uniformly opposes the yielding of said roller throughout the winding operation.

the same direction, two of them at one speed 1. In a spool winder of the class described three parallel rollers adapted to fit between the other at a slower speed; means for changing the direction of rotation of said rollers. and interchanglng the individual speed of the heretofore slower moving roller and one of the others; and means for maintaining a substantially constant force opposing the yielding of said yieldingly mounted roller throughout the winding operation.

4. In a device of the class described, a close- 1y spaced parallel pair of rollers in stationary journals; a third roller yieldingly mounted above and parallelto said pair of rollers; means for applying constant pressure against said third roller and a spool in place on said pair of rollers, and beneath said'third roller, throughout the winding operation; means for driving all of said rollers simultaneously in the same direction, one of them at a slower speed than the others; and means for Chang ing the direction of rotation and interchanging the individual speed of the then slower moving roller and one of the others at will.

5. In a device of the class described, a closely spaced parallel pair of rollers in sta tionary journals; a third roller yieldingly mounted and parallel to said pair of rollers; means for applying constantpressure against said third roller and a spool in place on said pair of rollers, and beneath said third roller, throughout the winding operation; means for driving all of said rollers simultaneously in the same direction, one of them at a slower speed than the others, and means for changing the direction of rotation and simultaneously interchanging the individual speed of the then slower roller and one of the others at will, the slower moving roller in each case being that one with which the yarns first contact as they are wound upon a spool in place in the device.

In a device of the class described, three parallel rollers located as at the points of a triangle and all three adapted to fit between the heads of the spool to be wound and contact with the barrel thereof, one of said roll- .ers adapted to yield as the spool fills when being wound; means for uniformly resisting the yielding movement of said roller throughout time winding operation; means for positively driving all of said rollers simultaneously, one of them at a lower peripheral speed than the others; and means whereby thespeed of theslower moving roller and one of the others may be interchanged, together with the direction of rotation of all three.

In testimony whereof We have affixed our signatures.

MARY COLLINS, lswccuzrim U order l VZ'ZZ of Charles H. OOZZi/Iw.

ERNEST D. JANSEN. 

